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Kapuas River, Malaysian Borneo Biotope Aquarium

I have recently put together this tank and have a few clarifications I'd like some feedback on.

The tank is meant to resemble a Blackwater stream in Malaysian Borneo, Kapuas River Basin. The stream would be running through a peat swamp.

Tank inhabitants: B. enisae (strain's F1 group collected from Sanngauu in Malaysian Borneo - the tank is based around them.) B. dimidiata, Boraras Maculatus, and some inverts.

I have come across some info today stating that there are two Kapuas River Basins on Borneo - one in Malaysia, one in Indonesia. Does anyone know which river basin the B. dimidiata are from? The Enisae are from the northern Kapuas River basin, and their strain was collected from a peat swamp in the area.

I would also appreciate feedback on my plant choices. I will be adding Chinese Evergreen, Peace lily, and colocasia and alocasia species as riparian growth, with their roots in the tank and tops growing into a greenhouse I'm building above the tank.

Any advice and feedback is appreciated, as I wish the biotope to remain as true-to-form as possible.

Re: Kapuas River, Malaysian Borneo Biotope Aquarium

I took a look at the Seriously Fish entries for both species (here and here), as well as the original descriptions of Betta dimidiata (here) and Betta enisae (here) and it appears that they're both found in the same general area, and occur in the same habitats. In fact, the description of Betta enisae mentions "it was always associated with but much less abundant than B. dimidiata."

There are indeed two rivers named the Kapuas in Borneo; they are both in Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). The larger Kapuas River flows westwards through the province of Kalimantan Barat (West Kalimantan) towards the South China Sea; the 2 species of betta you are keeping are native to this river. By the way, Sanggau Regency is in Kalimantan Barat, making it part of Indonesia, not Malaysia. The other Kapuas River is much shorter, and flows southwards through the province of Kalimantan Tengah (Central Kalimantan) into the Java Sea.

As for suitable plants and tankmates for your biotope, you can try looking for species of the Danau Sentarum lake system, which is part of the Kapuas catchment of Kalimantan Barat. There's a list of fish species recorded in Danau Sentarum on page 166 of this document by the Borneo Research Council, but it is likely outdated as it is already 17 years old. Interestingly, no species of Boraras are listed, although several barbs and rasboras are included. Plants are also listed in that same document, from page 89 onwards.

Re: Kapuas River, Malaysian Borneo Biotope Aquarium

Originally Posted by Trichopsis

I took a look at the Seriously Fish entries for both species (here and here), as well as the original descriptions of Betta dimidiata (here) and Betta enisae (here) and it appears that they're both found in the same general area, and occur in the same habitats. In fact, the description of Betta enisae mentions "it was always associated with but much less abundant than B. dimidiata."

There are indeed two rivers named the Kapuas in Borneo; they are both in Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). The larger Kapuas River flows westwards through the province of Kalimantan Barat (West Kalimantan) towards the South China Sea; the 2 species of betta you are keeping are native to this river. By the way, Sanggau Regency is in Kalimantan Barat, making it part of Indonesia, not Malaysia. The other Kapuas River is much shorter, and flows southwards through the province of Kalimantan Tengah (Central Kalimantan) into the Java Sea.

As for suitable plants and tankmates for your biotope, you can try looking for species of the Danau Sentarum lake system, which is part of the Kapuas catchment of Kalimantan Barat. There's a list of fish species recorded in Danau Sentarum on page 166 of this document by the Borneo Research Council, but it is likely outdated as it is already 17 years old. Interestingly, no species of Boraras are listed, although several barbs and rasboras are included. Plants are also listed in that same document, from page 89 onwards.

Hope this helps!

Wow! Great resources you were able to find! Wish I'd come across those sooner LOL.

I realized a short time after posting this that I was looking at the wrong border on the map, and the river ran through Kalimantan Barat in Indonesian Borneo (which explains why my buddy Hermanus has these fish because I don't think he knows any collectors from Malaysia haha) but I just didn't update.